


What's It Gonna Be?

by eghed



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: F/F, Humor, M/M, Multi, Mutual Pining, Obligitory Boarding School AU, Romance, multiple POVs, not a human au but no magic??????, only gays in my house
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-22
Updated: 2018-03-19
Packaged: 2019-02-05 17:00:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12798609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eghed/pseuds/eghed
Summary: it's the adventure zone and they're gay and they go to a boarding school. idk what 2 tell u





	1. Johann and Some Cute Boys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> johann is so gay and stupid

"Alright now, let’s see…”  
Johann pours his suitcase out onto the twin bed of his new dorm room. The room is dull and beige, and the bed looks uncomfortable. It's not very spacious either; he doesn't know where he'll keep all his stuff. He sighs and pulls out his checklist.  
“Hair gel… check. Spare guitar strings… check.” He continues like that for a few minutes until he's sure he has everything he needs. He sighs, ready to collapse on his bed with some Tchaikovsky, when the door swings open.  
“Taako, you dumbass! You could have died!” Bellowed a gravelly voice. This gravelly voice belonged to a huge dude, probably 6’2, with auburn hair and bright eyes. Was this his roommate?  
“The keyword here is ‘could’. I didn't, Maggie. That's what counts!” This voice sounded borderline cartoonish, very expressive and loud. In walked another person, a bit shorter than the other one, with long purple hair and lots of freckles. He was wearing a giant fur coat and… a wizard hat? Kinda weird. Johann digs it.  
“Whatever,” The first guy—Maggie?—swiveled around and faced Johann. “Taako, your roommate’s here already.”  
“Sweet!” The Taako guy spins dramatically and walks right up to Johann, hands on their hips. “Let’s see. Reasonably clear skin, silky hair, and a lack of emotion behind the eyes? You'll do nicely.”  
Johann shrinks back at being inspected, but gulps and manages: “Hi, my name’s Johann. I’m guessing you're… Taako?”  
“That’s me, pumpkin.” Taako walks over to his bed and lays down languidly. “Now, I need you to know a few things. We're gonna be leaving our door open for the purpose of making friends, and if I ever bring a cute boy over, you leave me alone. I'd do the same for you, sweetie—you might want to take notes.”  
As Taako lists all of the rules for their shared room, the Maggie guy unpacks Taako’s bags for him. Lots of pink and lots of glitter, Johann notices. This will certainly be a year.  
The next day, classes begin. Johann tries to stay out of people’s way which makes people stay out of his, which is as convenient as it is sad. It's not his fault he has RBF! Yet still, he finds himself in sixth period sitting in the back of the classroom by himself. It's moments before the bell is meant to ring when he feels a light tap on his shoulder.  
“Hey dude, you seem pretty lonely. May I sit here?”  
Whoa, good manners. Johann looks up and feels winded for a moment, because this boy is ridiculously cute. He has long brown hair pulled back in a bun, dark eyes and deep skin. His face is littered with freckles. Johann’s always been a sucker for freckles.  
“Uh, yeah. Go for it.”  
“Thanks!” The dude sits down and smiles brightly at Johann. “My name’s Avi, by the way. What’s yours?”  
“Me? Uh, Johann.”  
“Like Bach?”  
“Whoa, you know classical composers?” Johann sits up in his seat. Finally! Someone worthy of his time!  
“I mean, I had to take a music class in middle school.” Avi chuckles. “I feel like most people know Bach.”  
“Oh. Haha, yeah, I guess.” Johann looks away nervously. Well, that was embarrassing.  
“Classical music is pretty, though. I listen to it while I study because you don't have to think too hard about it.” Avi looks away from Johann as class begins and the teacher begins talking. Johann prepares to respond, bothered by Avi’s words, but he looks so cute focused intently on the teacher.  
Fuck.


	2. Carey and the Buff Love of Her Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> carey is my baby i would die for her....... she's so gay and such a lizard

“So that would make the value of x… 14?”  
Carey lets out a loud groan. “But why? How? It doesn't make any sense!” She buries her face in her textbook and Killian reaches over to pat her on the back.   
“Care Bear, it doesn't need to make sense. You're not gonna be a mathematician, you just have to memorize formulas.”  
“Hey!” Noelle cuts in from across the table and shoves her glasses up onto her nose. “You don't know that. If you'd just think more positively about it, you might find a hidden love for it!”  
Carey stares her down.   
“Okay, maybe it's not for everyone.”   
“Of course it isn't for everyone. Not everyone's gonna work at SpaceX, Noelle.” Killian smirks and takes a purposeful sip of her iced tea. Noelle shifts in her seat.   
“Whatever. Wanna start on the next problem?”  
“Actually, I gotta bounce. I picked up an extra shift because my coworker’s sick.” Killian scoops up her bag and swings it across her broad shoulders. “I'll see you guys back at the dorms!” She turns towards the door.   
Then, she turns back, and plants a kiss on Carey’s cheek.   
With that, she’s off on her merry way.  
“What the fuck.” Carey gasps once Killian has made her exit. Noelle is chortling. Her prosthetic grips the table as she wipes a tear from her eye and looks up at Carey.   
“I can't tell if this is your lucky day or if you're going to actually die.” Noelle says through her giggles.   
“I think both!”   
Carey stands up and wipes her hand down her face. She starts pacing around the small conference room.   
“She has no idea, oh my god.” Her face feels like it's boiling. There's a small sticky spot on her cheek from Killian’s lip balm. She almost wants to touch it, but she's afraid it'll disappear.   
Noelle hops up onto the table and watches Carey pass from one end of the room to the other. “How long are you gonna keep doing this to yourself?”   
Carey stops. “Doing what?”   
Noelle lays back on the table and messes with her mechanical pencil. “Keeping this bottled up. At some point, you'll have to tell her. I’m worried you'll explode if you don't.” She looks over at her blushing friend and offers a sympathetic smile. “You two are best friends. Even if she doesn't feel the same—“  
“She doesn't.” Carey cuts in. Noelle glares at her.  
“—as I was saying, she wouldn't resent you. She cares about you no matter what, my man.”  
The two sit in silence for a moment.   
“I'm just scared.”   
Noelle sits straight up. “Who are you?”   
“Um. What?”   
“Carey Fangbattle. You are the bravest woman I have ever met! When have you ever let anything scare you before?”   
Carey groans. “This is… different. I can face a fight, or a big bug, or an angry man. This is my best friend. I can't punch my way through that.”  
Noelle quirks her head. “You punch men when they're angry?”   
“If they've earned if, yeah.”   
“Harcore.”   
Carey smiles.   
“Killian likes hardcore girls.”  
Carey stands up and throws her eraser at Noelle.   
“Just give it some thought, okay?” Noelle picks up her bag and tosses her textbook into it. “I should go. Robotics club starts in a little bit. See you at the dorms!” Noelle grins and skips out the door. Carey watches it swing shut behind her.   
How does she make it sound so simple?


	3. Kravitz and The Eyelash Curler

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> kravitz is my stupid goth dad. i love him.

Putting eyeliner in your waterline can sure hurt like a bitch, as Kravitz was quick to learn. It’s finally time for auditions for the school’s chamber orchestra. They are a highly acclaimed group and are renowned for their modern plays on classical music. He’s been waiting for this day ever since he got accepted into Neverwinter Prep. He has to make sure he looks perfect.   
A knock on his door startles him and the eyeliner pencil goes right into his eye.   
“Fuck!” He hisses, squeezing his eyes shut and holding back tears. With his now one good eye he sees a guy with his hands over his mouth at his doorway.  
“Oh jeez, I'm so sorry!” The guy says in a slight monotone. He rushes inside and puts a hand on his back. “Do you need, like, eye drops or something?”   
Kravitz manages a laugh and shrugs his hand off of his back. “It's fine. This eyeliner’s non-toxic.”   
His eye is feeling fine now, so he opens it and takes a look at this guy. Kinda short, tan guy with very thick eyebrows. His dark brown hair is slicked back with gel, though a few small pieces seemed to have escaped the sticky prison. He has a gap in his teeth.   
Oh, fuck. Has he been talking?  
“-like, my sister used to put makeup on me when I was a kid, but I was always too scared to try it myself. Have you seen eyelash curlers? Those things are terrifying.”  
Kravitz laughs, a bit louder than he intends to, and picks up the small device in question. He puts it right up to his eyelashes and squeezes, eliciting a small yelp from the guy.   
“Doesn’t that—doesn't that hurt?”   
“Not if you know what you're doing. Here, let me try it on you!” He reaches towards the guy’s long eyelashes, but he quickly leaps away.   
“Thank you, but I think I'm good! I have an audition to get to, and I. Haha, I’d like both eyes working for that.” He smiles sheepishly.   
“Wait—audition?” Kravitz sets his eyelash curler down.   
“Yeah! For the Neverwinter Chamber Orchestra?” He grins and lifts up a violin case that Kravitz had failed to notice sitting on the ground next to him. “I actually came to ask if that's where you're going. Your cello’s sitting out—a real beauty, by the way. Must have cost a fortune.”   
Kravitz beams. “Thank you! It's rosewood.”   
“Hey, so’s mine!” He cracks open the case and carefully removed the instrument from its case. It's a very handsome violin. “My name’s Johann, by the way.”  
“Nice to meet you, Johann. I’m Kravitz.”

Post-auditions, Kravitz and Johann ride back to the dorms together. The sun is setting as they meander back to their dorms and it casts purple shadows on the clean pavement. The dorms come upon them more quickly than they would've liked, and Kravitz holds the door for his new friend.   
“You did a really great job.” Johann says. He's still speaking in his kind of gloomy monotone, but he sounds a bit brighter now.   
“So did you, dude!” Kravitz laughs and they walk into the dorms. People are lounging on the old grubby couches and somebody's making popcorn. They stand awkwardly near the doorway for a minute before it opens and some kid pushes past them.  
“Well, I should probably head back to my room. I have, y’know, physics homework.” Kravitz punches Johann lightly on his shoulder.   
“Ow.”  
“Sorry.”   
“Uh, I think I’m in your physics class. Wanna work together?” Johann rubs the back of his neck.   
“Sure! Two is better than one, as they say.”   
“Awesome. I'll just head back to my room and grab my stuff quick.”  
“I’ll come with you!” Kravitz smiles and follows behind Johann, who's already started walking. Johann looks back at him and shrugs. They come upon Johann’s door, which, quite strangely, has a lot of pink glitter on it. That doesn't really seem like Johann’s style, Kravitz thinks to himself. Johann opens the door—oh.   
One half of the room is mostly bare, save for a small Fantasy Lindsey Sterling poster on the wall. There's a shirt on the floor and the bed is unmade and, strangely, covered in crumpled paper. The other side, however.   
There's a big cork board on the wall with a glittery pink border that's covered in several fashion magazine cutouts. There are neon green sheets on the bed, which is covered in clothes, which are covered by a chubby elf guy in a cute skirt and a turtleneck. Wait, cute?   
“Johann!” The elf says, rolling out of bed and over to his apparent roommate. “What's poppin’, my guy?” He slings an arm around his shoulder and ruffles his hair. Johann exhales heavily.  
“Hi, Taako.” He pulls himself from out of Taako’s grasp and fixes his hair. “How are you?”  
“I'm doing just fine, Joho.”   
“Please don't call me that.”   
Taako ignores him and looks over at Kravitz. His eyes widen for a moment, shortly followed by a sly smirk. “This your new boyfriend? D’ya need me to leave?” Kravitz blushes and steps away.   
“No!” Kravitz says as Johann frantically shakes his head.   
“Not that you're, y'know, ugly or anything,” Johann adds, a strong red color climbing into his cheeks, “You just! Aren't my type.”   
“Exactly!” Kravitz laughs awkwardly. “Just not my type.”   
Taako looks them over. He's obviously holding back laughter.   
“If you boys say so.” He stops to look Kravitz over. “But sidenote: I’m very single and you're very cute. I'm usually here if you need me, pretty boy.”   
Taako makes an exit. Kravitz blushes. Johann giggles.   
“So. Physics?”  
“Uh. Yeah. Physics.”


	4. Lucretia and the Cool, Hot and Funny Science Nerd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> wahhhh i love lucretiaaaaaaa

Lucretia is many things at once. Class president, multi-club leader, lesbian, avid reader. One thing she is not is romantic. Once a girl complimented her skates at a roller rink and she had to go hide in the bathroom for fifteen minutes. This is certainly why, when Lup walks into her first official robotics club meeting and winks at her, she fucks everything up.   
Once everyone arrives (Noelle, Barry, Avi, Magnus, Lup), Lucretia taps her papers on the table they're sitting around and smiles at the new team.   
“Welcome to robotics,” she says, “It’s good to see some familiar faces, but I'm glad there are some new ones as well. I thought we could go around and introduce ourselves? Like, name and a fun fact, or whatever.”   
“Sure,” Avi says with his ever-present smile. “I can go first, unless you want to.”   
Lucretia nods and smiles at him. “Go for it.”  
“Cool! So, my name’s Avi, and my favorite color’s green.” Everyone nods at him, and the circle continues until it finally reaches Lup.   
“My name’s Lup! I’m a Gemini, I'm a cat person and I-“   
“They just need your name, Lulu.” Barry, the guy sitting next to her, reminds her.   
“Don’t call me that.” She says affectionately. Oh, god. They're dating, aren't they? I mean, obviously. They’re two of the smartest students at this school, why wouldn’t they be dating? God, how disappointing-  
“Uh, Lucy, it’s your turn.” Avi’s smooth voice pulls her out of her thoughts.   
“Shit! I mean, shoot! Sorry.” She laughs nervously, something she rarely does. “My name is Lucretia, and I’m the president of this club.”   
Everyone nods and mumbles a greeting, but Lup cocks her head.   
“That isn’t a fun fact, we all knew that already!”   
Lucretia falters. “Uh, what?”   
“C’mon, give us something exciting! What’s the great and famous Lucretia really like?” Lup is leaning across the table and grinning.   
Oh, fuck. Lucretia wracks her brain for anything interesting, but she can’t. She’s pretty introverted and she mainly just focuses on school. There isn’t anything she can say that the Cool, Hot and Funny Lup Taaco would be impressed by-  
Avi cuts in. “Lucretia can write with both hands at once!”   
Barry nods approvingly. Lup sits back down, looking sly. “Oh, I suppose that’s pretty neat.”   
Oh god, Lucretia thinks, she thinks I’m boring!   
“Who don’t we start the meeting?” Noelle says, putting on a bright smile.   
“Excellent idea, Ms. Redcheek! Now, I thought we could just get right into it then!”  
The session passes smoothly. They brainstorm some promising designs for the upcoming season and they call it a day. As everyone is packing up, Lup walks up to Lucretia.   
“Do you need any help cleaning up?” Lup smiles brightly at her. Lucretia melts a little.  
“That would be great, thank you!”   
Lup gives her a thumbs up and starts moving chairs back to their original places. Lucretia begins to reorganize the tables. As they work, Lup pauses and turns to her.   
“So, you can write with both hands, huh?”   
“Uh, yeah, but like, it’s really not that difficult, it sounds cooler than it is—“  
Lup raises a perfectly shaped brow. “I wonder what else you could do with—“  
“Lup?”   
Thank whatever gods are out there for Barry Bluejeans. Lucretia finds her suddenly very sweaty hands dropping the chair she’s holding on the floor with a loud clatter. Barry and Lup both stare at her for a moment.   
“It be like that sometimes,” Lup whispers. Barry snorts.   
“We have to go, Lulu, we’re tutoring those freshman today.”   
Lup opens her mouth to protest, but Lucretia’s quick to cut her off.   
“Go ahead, I can finish on my own.” She does her best to smile. Lup frowns, but nods.   
“See ya round, Two Hands,” Lup says as she slides out a and falls in step with Barry.   
Lucretia picks up the chair she dropped and sighs. This is going to be a long season.


	5. Johann and his Gay Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i can’t think of anything to put here. i am gay

One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three. One—  
The metronome on Johann’s phone is interrupted by an incoming phone call. He sighs, sets his violin on his pillow and presses the bright green ‘answer’ button.  
“Hello?” He groans into the receiver. He notices Taako’s long ears lifting from across the room as he breaks the silence that had been blanketing the room. “Who’s this?”  
“You have caller ID, Johann. It’s Kravitz.” Johann smiles and flops back onto his bed.  
“Whatever. Do you need something?”  
“Can I hang out at yours for a bit? Barry’s working on... something? In our room, and I can’t focus on my homework.”  
“Yeah, hold on,” he covers the receiver with the palm of his hand. “Taako, you cool if Kravitz comes over?”  
Taako’s ears are flat against his head as he pretends he wasn’t listening. “As long as you two keep it down,” he says with a wink. He looks disgruntled, though. Johann frowns and ignores his cheeks heating up.  
“Do you have to make that joke every time?”  
“Legally, yes,” Taako shrugs nonchalantly. Johann rolls his eyes and uncovers the receiver.  
“Pop on over, buddy.”  
“See you soon!”  
Kravitz’s line clicks dead and Johann sets his phone down. He turns to Taako, who is incredibly interested in his neon green bedspread.  
“If you’d rather Kravitz and I hang out somewhere else, we can. I wouldn’t want to disturb you.”  
Taako’s ears stand up. “What would give you that impression?” He sounds defensive. “He can come over whenever. See if I care. He’s just a nerdy music guy like you! No issues.”  
Johann tilts his head. “Alright...”  
Just then, there’s a knock on the door. Taako pulls out his phone and does whatever he does on it and Johann leaps up to let his friend in. Kravitz is standing there in pajama bottoms and a “Goldcliff City Orchestra” hoodie and is smiling sheepishly.  
“Thanks for letting me come over. Barry had some kind of... robot thing? I don’t know. It was really noisy,” He rubs the back of his neck.  
“Yeah, man, don’t worry about it. Physics?” Johann sits down on the floor and drags his backpack into his lap. Kravitz joins him on the floor, and they begin discussing their work. After a while, Johann notices Taako watching them out of the corner of his eye.  
“Hey, Taako, do you wanna join us?”  
Taako glances at them. “What, you bunch of geeks?”  
The two smile. “If that’s what you wanna call us.”  
Taako groans. “Fine. But only because Lup is busy today!” He slides off his bed and pulls his backpack over. Johann and Kravitz cheer.  
The trio work for a solid hour before Kravitz phone rings. He informs his friends that he has to get to his drama club. Taako calls him a loser, and then he’s on his way.  
“Johann, you really aren’t dating him?” Taako asks as soon as Kravitz’ footsteps fade out.  
“I’m not!” Johann insists.  
“That’s good, because I think I’m going to.” Taako winks. Johann snorts.  
“Whatever you gotta do, man. I’m going for a walk.”  
Johann takes walks almost every day when Kravitz isn’t around. When he sits still for too long his brain feels like it’s melting, so he has to move around a lot. He plays Tchaikovsky in his earbuds and walks in circles around the big open courtyard next to the dorms and, once he feels like his brain is working, sits down to do his homework. This time, some soft grass below a shady tree calls for him and he stretches his legs out there. Just as he’s settling in to do his assigned reading, he feels a force against his calves as someone trips over his legs and lands on his bag.  
“Fuck!” They say, and oh shit. Aw hell. It’s Avi.  
“Agh! I’m so sorry, dude!” Johann scrambles to help him up. “Are you okay?”  
Avi laughs and rubs his head. He accepts Johann’s helping hand and stands up. “I’m fine, dude. Sorry to disturb you.”  
They look at each other for a minute. Johann can feel his face heating up. Avi smiles, and it’s dazzling as ever.  
“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask. Did you transfer out of our calc class? I haven’t seen you around in a while,” Avi speaks up suddenly. Johann releases a breath he didn’t know he was holding.  
“Yeah. I’m doing my math courses online now so I can. Uh.” God, dropping math to take music theory is pretty lame, isn’t it? Oh well. “Um. So I can take more music courses.”  
“That’s awesome! I wish I was good at music so I could drop calc.” He playfully punches Johann in the shoulder.  
“Oh, I’m nothing special. I just want to learn.” Johann rubs his elbow.  
“Dude, I hear you playing in your dorm sometimes. You’re kind of incredible.” Avi stares at him with something he can’t place. He laughs too loud and goes to brush off the compliment when he hears Magnus calling Avi over. Avi looks annoyed, but waves goodbye and jogs over. Johann sits down, but he feels like he’s floating.


	6. Carey is Uncharacteristicly Bad at Softball

Feet planting firmly on either side of the base. Knees slightly bent and ready to move. Right hand over left, gripping the bat. Bat level to ear. Eyes on the ball, and—  
“Strike!”  
Fuck!  
Carey drops her bat in the sand as she walks back to the dug out. Killian pulls off her mitt and jogs after her. They sit on the bench together.   
“You’re really off your game today, dude. Are you okay?” Killian pats Carey’s shoulder. She slumps forward and sighs.   
“I don’t know. It’s just... Everybody else on the team has been playing since they were in diapers and I just started last summer. I probably won’t make the team, so why bother?”   
Killian traces patterns across her back. It’s comforting, but it makes her shiver.   
“Of course you’ll make the team,” Killian says, “and you wanna know why?”   
Carey leans her head on her companion’s shoulder. “Tell me.”   
Killian stops tracing and pats Carey’s back affirmatively. “‘Cause you’re a lesbian.”   
Carey chortles.   
Later, Killian has gone back to her dorm and Carey is meeting Noelle at the Fantasy Olive Garden. The two settle in across from each other in a booth and eat a few breadsticks before Carey slumps forward with a groan.   
“I’m gay,” she mumbles into the table. Noelle laughs.   
“Yes you are, darlin’,” She pats Carey’s head affectionately. “Why are you gay this time?”  
“Killian’s just so supportive of me. I never do anything right and I get in trouble all the time, but she still believes in me. Why?”   
“I mean, she loves you.”   
A comfortable silence falls over the two as they examine the menus.   
“Should I get the shrimp scampi or the chicken piccata?” Noelle asks after a moment.  
“We can be shrimp twins,” Carey jokes. Noelle giggles. They place their orders and Carey looks at the scuffed-up table for a moment.   
“Killian deserves better.”   
“I’m stopping you right there, pumpkin.” Noelle looks up sharply as she speaks. “You and Killian have been best friends for years! What makes you think you’re a bad friend? And now, of all times?”   
“She’s... growing up. She’s at the top of our class and she’s good at everything she tries.”   
“Not ceramics, you remember how bad she was at ceramics!” Noelle protests. Their food arrives, and they quiet down for a moment.   
“I got arrested a few weeks ago, Noelle.” Carey mumbles after a short silence. Noelle’s eyes widen and she quickly swallows her food.   
“You—for what?”   
“I, uh, shoplifted.” Carey looks at her shrimp scampi in shame.   
“Carey!”   
“I’m sorry! It’s just... Magnus really wanted this one shirt for his birthday and I can never afford to get him anything, so I thought...” She tears up a little. “I—I’m sorry. Anyway, Killian paid my bail, and I just... she deserves someone who can help her just as much as she helps them!” She takes a bite of her noodles and chews melancholically.   
Noelle sighs. “Killian doesn’t need help. She gets done anything she needs to get done. She’s not friends with you because she needs something from you, she’s friends with you because she loves you! Get that through your scaly head!”   
As she’s speaking, her phone rings. She harrumphs, but answers it. As she listens, her eyes widen.   
“Fuck!” She scrambles to pull a wad of cash out of her pockets and slaps it onto the table. “Here’s for my food and the tip, I forgot I have a robotics meeting today!” Carey scoops up the money.   
“Okay, uh, see ya later.”   
Carey waves over her waiter, pays the bill, and walks home feeling heavy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wasn’t as satisfied with this chapter, but i couldn’t figure out how to fix it so here it is. pls enjoy!!


	7. Kravitz and the Dance Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> kravitz writes some music

Kravitz sits in his room, cello between his knees and bow in hand. Crumpled sheets of paper litter his bed, each scrap covered in scribbled out music. He feels rather like Johann, he thinks to himself with a smile. The difference, though, is that Johann knows how to make music. Kravitz just plays it. He has to write for his Music Theory class because if he doesn’t get an A, he might not be accepted to the Neverwinter Chamber Orchestra. Sure, the audition went fantastic, but there’s still work to do. After another failed string of notes, he groans and throws his bow on the ground.   
“How does Johann do this?” He whines as he slumps on the bed.   
The door clicks open then, and Kravitz half-heartedly lifted his head from his pillow of paper. “Hey, Barry.”   
“Hello,” Barry says, distracted. “Have you seen my wrench—whoa, what happened here?” He stops to look at the trash surrounding his roommate.   
“Making music is hard,” he mumbles. He slides off the bed onto the floor.   
“What are you writing music for?” Barry asks as he rifles through his robotics bin.   
“Class,” Kravitz says.   
“Ah. See, that’s your problem,” Barry turns around, wrench now in hand. “You must be looking at it too technically. You have to put some emotion, a story, into your piece or it won’t come together.”   
“How are you a music genius all of a sudden? And aren’t you, like, the king of being technical?”   
“Hey, scientists can feel things too, bud.”   
“Sure.” Kravitz sighs. “Well, have fun with your wrench.”   
“I will, thank you.” With that, Barry exits the room. Kravitz is left alone.   
Okay, he thinks to himself, emotion. Story. Story, emotion.  
He thinks about his life, and all the fun things that happened to him, but all he comes up with is all the trips he’s taken to seen the orchestra. That won’t work.   
Alright, no stories. What about emotion?   
Taako, his brain tells him. His face goes red. Taako makes him feel emotions, all right. Every time he hangs out with Johann and Taako is there, he can’t get any work done. He could talk to him for hours. His jokes make him laugh, his weird clothes are even kind of appealing. He grabs his bow and sits back up, and starts to write.   
It’s a goofy, bubbly song, with lots of quick staccatos and sweet notes. The notes flow out of him like a chocolate fountain. He’s never written like this in his life!   
“Whatcha playin’, Krav?”   
He jumps, dropping his bow. Leaning on the open doorframe, in all his neon clothed glory, is Taako himself.   
“Oh... you know.”   
Taako rolls his eyes. “You music people are so cryptic. I get enough of that with Johann.” He invites himself in and plops down next to Kravitz. “Play me your song, Mr. Cello Man.”  
Kravitz laughs, and lifts his bow. He plays what he has so far, which is about four minutes. Taako sits quietly for the first few measures, but then gets up and dances around. Once the song ends, he laughs his boisterous laugh and sits back down.   
“That was a bop,” he says, beaming, “you’ll get a good grade on that one for sure!”   
Kravitz smiles dopily. Before he can stop himself, he hears himself speak:  
“Could we go out sometime? Just the two of us?”   
Taako’s eyes widen. “Y—but—How—Wait, really?” His face is totally red, and his ears are standing straight up.   
“Yeah!” Kravitz smiles dopily. “I mean, if you want to.”   
Taako laughs and swings his arms around Kravitz, kind of awkwardly with his cello in the way. “I thought you’d never ask.”

**Author's Note:**

> i love these gay motherfuckers.


End file.
